Josephine frowns. “I never ruled. David handled everything that mattered, from meetings to ceremonies.”
“All of which you've been present for and observed first hand, which means you know a million times more than any of us.” Wesley shoves his chair back from the table. “I don't want to stay. There must be a better option. Besides, you need my help managing Rafe, and, for the record, no one here likes me, not like they like you. Speaking of, where in the heck did all that come from? The last time you had to speak in public, you tripped on your shoelace and ate a handful of gravel.”
“I guess I needed a topic that mattered to me.”
He shakes his head. “You were amazing, but none of those people want me. I’m not their glorious, egalitarian leader.”
I place my hand over his. “But you're her best friend.”
Wesley exhales heavily.
Adam raises his hand and I suppress a laugh. He's got to be older than me, but I swear he acts like a little boy sometimes and I just want to hug him. “Yes, what Adam?”
“Why are you talking about who's staying? Staying where?”
I sigh. “I brought you in here because I trust all of you.”
Sam squeezes my knee, clearly not ready to include Adam, but I brush his hand off. I can’t distrust everyone forever.
“No one wants me to trust you Adam, but for some reason I find that I do. People I have faith in are in short supply. What I haven't confessed to anyone here in Galveston yet is that I stumbled across some very promising research. We think it could be used to develop a cure for Tercera. As you know, the suppressant has failed for most of the Marked. Time is of the essence, and sadly only my cousin Job and I know enough to decipher and replicate the research.”
Adam bites his lip. “You're saying only a seventeen year old girl knows enough to replicate this research? Pardon me for questioning you, Your Royal Highness, but how is no one else better prepared for this task?”
I shrug. “The man who raised me, who I thought was my father until very recently, was the foremost scientist on viruses in America, Before. It's his work we plan to pursue. His sister, my cousin's Job’s mother, would do a better job, but she's gone missing. Wesley's right that we might need his help to find her, or at least his dad's help. Until we do locate her, my cousin and I are all we've got. The Marked kids' only hope, so to speak.”
“You're planning to leave now? The same day you were crowned?” Adam's eyes judge me.
Get in line, buddy.
“If Wesley won't stay here in my place, I'll have no choice but to make my mom a regent.” I turn toward Josephine and look her in the eyes. “I need you to rule for me until I can get this sorted.”
Josephine shakes her head. “They won't listen to me. I've sat along the sidelines for too long. I won't do you any good.”
I'm worried she's right. I've seen how the Port Heads look at her. I look up at the ceiling, exasperated. “Wesley, you have to do it. There's no one else.”
“What about Sam?” Wesley asks.
Sam cocks his head to the side. “You're going to keep her safe while she travels?”
Wesley fumes. “This is so unfair. I know nothing about WPN, nothing about being a regent, and nothing about the beach.”
He's grasping at straws. “You've trained to lead people your entire life. You're smart, you're resourceful, you're funny and you're a natural leader.”
He fumes. “I hope my dad's willing to help you find your aunt without me there to encourage it.”
I do wish he could come with us, but my mom can't do this alone.
We need someone who understands WPN, the political structure, the major players, and their belief system. Someone who can hold his or her own against the Port Heads. Someone I can trust to make sure the Cleansing doesn't happen. If my position crumbles the second I leave, then I wasted my time here.
Then I risked Rhonda's life for nothing.
Everything around me is a house of cards, one sneeze away from collapse. Sam clears his throat and I glance his way. He tosses his head toward Adam.
He's from here and he knows the players. I trust him. He's sworn vows to me he seems to take seriously. He doesn't know everything, but he knows enough.
“Adam,” I say. “What about you? Could you stand in as Regent?” He's good looking. The girls certainly like him.
His jaw drops. “I'm a guard. I couldn't possibly.”
“You're the Captain of my guard, voted in by the confidence of your co-workers in spite of your youth. Sworn to protect and obey me.”
He shakes his head. “I can't. I won't.”
“Why not?” I ask.
Adam looks down at his hands. “I should've told you right away.”
My eyebrows draw together. “What should you have told me right away?” I hate secrets. If anyone ever throws me a surprise party, I might spit on them.
He exhales heavily. “Because I didn't quite rise in the ranks on my own merits, not entirely.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
He frowns. “A long time ago, when my mom was young, she found out she had pancreatic cancer. The doctors couldn't do anything and told her it was terminal. She tried a lot of treatments. She was so young. Ultimately, she met a man who claimed to be a faith healer.”
Josephine gasps and something in my stomach feels a little queasy. Where's he going with this?
“He healed her and she was grateful. So grateful, she, well, let's just say he took advantage of her gratitude. She thought they would eventually get married, but a year or two after I was born, he met someone else. Someone from a reputable family. Someone classy, with money and a pedigree.”
Adam won't meet my eyes. “What are you saying?”
He looks up, his light blue eyes meeting my own. “My father married your mother instead of mine.”
“What?” I ask. “I don't understand. You're saying David Solomon's your dad? And that he healed your mom?”
He shakes his head. “I've looked into it. I think Mom was misdiagnosed and really only had chronic pancreatitis. It improved some when he changed her diet. She credited him with healing her, but she suffered from pain and malnutrition her entire life.”
“So, that means . . .”
He nods. “I'm your older brother.”
“Instead of admitting you were his son, he did what? He made you a guard?” I ask.
“He didn't even do that, not at first. When Tercera showed up, he called Mom and told her it was a real threat. He sent her money from time to time. She was one of the first to join his community out here.” Adam looks at his hands. “He visited us regularly. When my mother finally passed a few years ago, he made sure I had opportunities to advance.”
I turn toward Josephine, searching her face for confirmation. She stares at the window, her eyes glassy.
“Why should I believe you?” Solomon said he had other children, illegitimate ones, but for some reason I assumed they were young. Younger, at least.
“You didn't have much time with him and he wasn't himself, since he was infected. Even so, it was probably enough.” Adam meets my gaze, his eyes ice blue, angry, bitter. “David Solomon beat my mother regularly. He came to visit and if everything wasn't perfect, if the tea was too cold, or if Mom said the wrong thing.” He shakes his head. “He'd take my mom into another room and close the door. I realized what was happening when I was six. Mother told me not to say a word and never to tell anyone she knew him. I didn't know he was my father until I was older, much older.”
Josephine turns toward Adam, her eyes teary. “I'm sorry. I swear I didn't know.”
He looks back down at his hands. “I grew nearly a foot in between most of his visits. They weren't frequent and they grew even less common as my mother grew sicker. By the time I was sixteen, mother was bedridden. I met him at the door when he showed up. I told him if he didn't turn around and leave and never come back, I'd tell everyone I knew about his visits. I'd tell them about Mom's bruises
, that they weren't from her illness. No one would believe me, but I meant what I said. I would've told them.”
He's lucky Solomon didn't kill him.
I look into Adam's eyes and something passes between us, something I can't describe in words. It's like looking into a mirror that shows the future and the past at once. It's enough to convince me that Adam's telling the truth. I glance at Josephine, and I realize she believes him too.
For the first time it hits me, really hits me. Adam and I have more siblings out there. Siblings I may never even know. I shake my head to clear that train of thought. No time to deal with that yet, but I do send up a small prayer to God that maybe, just maybe, some of them will turn out like Adam and me, and not like their father.
“I hate to say this,” Wesley says, “because I like you, Adam, I really do. Even more now that I know you're Ruby's half brother, but Rubes. You can't leave a legitimate heir to the throne behind to rule for you. It's not a good plan.”
“Why?” I ask. “Because I have so many other options?”
“Fine,” he says. “I could've helped locate Anne or navigated things with the Marked, but I'll stay. Because otherwise, odds are he'll be wearing that crown when you return. The Port Heads aren't fond of you and they'll jump at the chance to replace you.”
Adam shakes his head. “I know you don't know me, but—”
I stand up. “I do know you, actually. You grew up just like me, without a dad. And recently, without a mom too. You learned as you grew that your father wasn't who you hoped he was. Instead of caring for you, he broke you a little inside every day. But I also know that those things don't define us. Which is why I'm leaving you to rule in my place. I trust you to prevent the Port Heads from attacking the Marked, and I trust you to serve the people here and prepare to help the Marked, whether we can cure them or not.”
Wesley shakes his head. “This is a mistake.”
“Then leave us jointly in charge and let Adam help me.” Josephine stands up, squares her shoulders and lifts her chin.
“One of you can deal with the Sunday sermons?” I ask. “Those seem to be a big deal.”
Josephine smiles. “I've handled one or two before when David was ill.”
“I don't like speaking in front of people,” Adam says, “but I know the Bible well enough to prepare something.”
Josephine puts her hand on my upper arm. “I'll be the official Regent, and Adam can be my Co-Regent so you don’t even need to announce your relationship, not until you’re ready. How's that? Between the two of us, we'll take care of things.”
I shrug. “And Adam, if you turn out to be better at public speaking than you think and you love ruling? Well, I still don't want a crown so maybe we can make this permanent.”
He shakes his head. “No thanks. I'd rather no one ever know about my dad. I wish I didn't know about him.”
“All I'm saying is, don't massacre anyone and we'll be just fine. If this gig grows on you, we can talk. Deal?” I hold out my hand to shake.
Adam walks around the table and pulls me out of the chair and into his cantaloupe-sized arms. My brother hugs me for a good thirty seconds. For the first time since Rafe's message, I actually feel a flicker of joy.
7
“We need to leave right now.” I stomp.
I want to leave the second everything’s settled on Sunday night, but Sam insists driving all night isn't very safe.
“With the state of roads these days, it’s an unnecessary risk,” he says. “I won’t trade your life for Rhonda’s.”
“Besides,” Wesley says. “I hate to point out the grotesque, but if Rafe decided to kill her for missing a deadline it’s already done. Tonight or tomorrow won’t make a difference.”
I go a few rounds, but ultimately my heart isn’t in it. They’re right. It’s already too late. I made my decision and I have to live with it. I spent all afternoon meeting with Port Heads and sending them scurrying out with an earful that was appropriately tailored to their individual brand of nonsense. I swear, each request they made was more idiotic than the last. Now that’s done, if I’m not leaving right away, I may as well pack. My mother comes in to help me.
The last time I left Galveston, I didn't make it out with so much as a stick of gum. This time Josephine wants to load me up with an elephant, six leaping lords, six cars and the trunks to load them all down.
“It's too much stuff, Mom. I don't need any of this.” I lift a billowy, blood red ball gown off the bed and shove it at her. “I don't even know where this came from, much less what I might ever do with it.”
“You always need at least one ball gown. You never know what event might necessitate its use.”
I throw my hands in the air. “Where do you get this stuff? Is there some kind of book? One that’s called A Princess's Guide to Overpacking? I will never, ever need a ball gown again. Period.”
Josephine frowns. “You don’t want to be a monarch, I know. You’d rather pretend that you’re a nobody with no power, and then you can do as you please. I’m glad you show the insight that this job shouldn’t be about perks but about works. But I will share one truth that you’re going to disregard at your peril: you never know when you might need a ball gown.”
I huff. I puff. My mom does not budge.
I could've packed in fifteen minutes on my own. With Josephine's help it takes me two hours, and even so, the next morning I realize I almost forgot my dad’s journal. I shove the messenger bag I took from Solomon's office into my huge duffel at the last second. There’s barely room thanks to the stupid ball gown. Sam and Wesley are loading our stuff into a huge white jeep with large, chunky-treaded tires when I notice movement from the corner of my eye.
Adam's walking toward me in full uniform, with twelve more guards behind him. They look like a flock of geese, and I do not want to talk to him because I know exactly what he’s going to say.
Everyone always told me siblings were annoying and I thought they were crazy. But now that I know Adam's my brother, he listens to me less and he’s far more persistent when I tell him no. As the Chief of the Palace Guard, he insisted on four guards keeping me in their sight at all times. I figured since he was staying in Galveston, I could leave without any uniformed shadows in attendance. I'm tired of tripping over people every time I turn around.
“Adam.” I shake my head preemptively. “You better not be about to say what I think you're going to say.”
He shrugs. “Have a nice trip?”
I frown. “Why do you have all those guards with you? I already have four here, and I wanted to talk to you about that. I don't need guards where I'm headed. In fact, anything that draws attention to who I am will be bad. It'll make me more unsafe.”
Adam acts like he didn't even hear me. “You'll need to take enough that they can take shifts, obviously. I wanted fifty soldiers, but Sam thought that would stand out.”
My jaw drops. “You think? Have you lost your mind?”
Wesley clears his throat. “I'm with Ruby. The less people notice us, the better. Especially since we’re headed for Marked territory and they know you guys were thinking of wiping them out. A small army of gun toting zealots might be poorly received.”
Sam’s completely nonplussed, his voice calm, his eyes steady on mine. “I’m glad to hear you two are now experts in security.”
I put a hand on my hip. “I was right about Marking our foreheads when we left that church.”
Adam’s eyes dart from Wesley to Sam, and then over to me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You Marked your forehead? Why?”
I sigh. “I’ll catch you up on our long and eventful trip out here later.”
“We do have a lot of catching up to do.” Adam’s mouth turns up into a half grin and I almost lean over to hug him.
I’m not sure why it’s so much easier for me to like Adam than Josephine. I want to like her, but it’s complicated.
“I did speak to your mother last night,” Adam says.
/>
My eyebrows rise. “About?”
He bites his lip and I realize he’s nervous for some reason. “I’d like to come with you myself.”
I exhale. “We’ve talked about this.”
“I find that I’m more worried about keeping you safe than I am about retaining your power here,” Adam says. “And your mother agreed. She feels competent to look after the affairs of state while we’re gone.”
Sam walks up behind me, his arms wrapping around mine. I smile and lean back against him. “I will be safe,” I say. “Sam will be with me.”
Adam nods. “I’m relieved to know he will, but no one can be everywhere all the time.”
I lean forward until my mouth is only a foot away from Adam’s ear. “Not to impugn you guys in any way, but Sam could have taken out your whole base. And he took six gunshots and kept on swinging.”
Adam’s eyebrow rises. “If lying in a puddle and nearly dying counts as swinging. . .”
“Look,” I whisper, “your men make me insane. I trip over Frank every single time I get up to go pee, I'm not kidding.”
Adam barks a laugh that sounds almost like a cough. “I'll talk to him or if you insist, I'll replace him, but you can't leave everyone here and sneak off. You’re the queen of World Peace Now, whether you like it or not.”
“Wait,” Wesley says, “she's queen of World Peace Now? Or did you mean to say that now she's the queen of world peace? Because being queen of world peace would be kind of awesome, I’m just saying.”
Adam and the other guards standing behind him all frown.
Wesley leans against the side of the jeep and rolls his eyes upward. “Nobody appreciates comedy here. It's a confusing name, that’s my point. It would be so much easier if you said WPN, plus it sounds like weapon, which is cool with you guys, right? “
Adam turns toward me. “What's he talking about?”
“I'm trying to point out a few small improvements you could make around here while we’re gone,” Wesley says. “You'd think people would be grateful. Once you’re around it enough, you stop noticing what things sound dumb.”
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